Friday's Ask the Experts: Bidding conundrum

Friday''s Ask the Experts question from a cleaning professional on theInternational Custodial Advisors Network(ICAN) "Ask the Experts" page:I''ve previously submitted my question in regard to providing janitorial cleaning services for seven days a week at several city facilities in California. Approximately 200,000 square feet are involved. What would be the best way to bid, by square foot or man-hours? We also need to supply all paper goods and keep three day porters on site all week.

Answer #1:

I appreciate your desire for a rapid response, but we are limited by two things, time elements we cannot control and lack of information about your business and its capabilities. Posting of the question to our experts takes several days and we may wait several more days before someone provides an answer. Generally speaking, questions about bid preparation are responded to, while specific bids we are asked to prepare go undone due to the lack of information we have to work with.

The ICAN/ATEX archive provides a wealth of suggestions that could give you a more immediate response. Please refer to them. www.icanatex.com/Index.aspFor example:

If all of the city offices represent 200,000, I wouldn''t think every office would be open seven days a week. You would first total up the square footage for five days and then seven days.

Next, you would separate out distinct buildings that are above or below the norm in cleaning times. Those with a lot of traffic, such as police, would clean much slower. Review all the variables ... — Gary Clipperton of the National Pro Clean Corporation, (719) 598-5112